Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett

What does it do? And in its normal functioning, how does it produce mental events? That in our culture, our thoughts and feelings and perceptions and actions, in other cultures, they're different conglomerations of features, right? So for us, a thought and a feeling are super distinct. We experience them as very separate. In fact,

What does it do? And in its normal functioning, how does it produce mental events? That in our culture, our thoughts and feelings and perceptions and actions, in other cultures, they're different conglomerations of features, right? So for us, a thought and a feeling are super distinct. We experience them as very separate. In fact,

Really since the time of Plato, we've had this kind of narrative where, you know, the mind or the brain is a battleground between your thoughts and your feelings, right? In for control of your action. If your thoughts win, you are a rational creature. You are a healthy creature. You are a moral creature.

Really since the time of Plato, we've had this kind of narrative where, you know, the mind or the brain is a battleground between your thoughts and your feelings, right? In for control of your action. If your thoughts win, you are a rational creature. You are a healthy creature. You are a moral creature.

If your instincts and your emotions win, you know, your inner beast, then you are irresponsible. You are childish. You are immoral. You are mentally ill. That's the narrative that we work in. In some cultures, thoughts and feelings are not separate. They are really one. It's not that you have them at the same time. It's that they are one thing. They are features of the same mental event.

If your instincts and your emotions win, you know, your inner beast, then you are irresponsible. You are childish. You are immoral. You are mentally ill. That's the narrative that we work in. In some cultures, thoughts and feelings are not separate. They are really one. It's not that you have them at the same time. It's that they are one thing. They are features of the same mental event.

In some cultures, your body and your mind are not separate. There are no separate experiences for a physical sensation versus a mental feeling. They're really one thing. So our minds are not the human nature. It's just one human nature. And there are other human natures too. And we have to figure out how...

In some cultures, your body and your mind are not separate. There are no separate experiences for a physical sensation versus a mental feeling. They're really one thing. So our minds are not the human nature. It's just one human nature. And there are other human natures too. And we have to figure out how...

general brain plan, a general body plan for a neurotypical human produces such wide variation depending on the cultural context in which it grows.

general brain plan, a general body plan for a neurotypical human produces such wide variation depending on the cultural context in which it grows.

I would say, yeah, sure, there was a eureka moment, but it was a long, slow burn. When I was a graduate student, I wasn't studying emotion. I was studying the self. How do you think about yourself? What is your self-esteem like? How do you conceive of yourself, right? This is an important topic in psychology. And I was measuring emotion. as an outcome variable.

I would say, yeah, sure, there was a eureka moment, but it was a long, slow burn. When I was a graduate student, I wasn't studying emotion. I was studying the self. How do you think about yourself? What is your self-esteem like? How do you conceive of yourself, right? This is an important topic in psychology. And I was measuring emotion. as an outcome variable.

And the measurements weren't, the measures weren't working. And I thought, well, I need to be able to just literally objectively measure when someone is angry or when they're sad or when they're happy. I don't want to have to ask them because they could be wrong. And

And the measurements weren't, the measures weren't working. And I thought, well, I need to be able to just literally objectively measure when someone is angry or when they're sad or when they're happy. I don't want to have to ask them because they could be wrong. And

In that phrasing of the question, there's a presumption, right, that there is an objective state called anger, that generally most instances of anger will look the same regardless of person and context. And I very quickly realized that There are no essences that anybody's been able to discover, right?

In that phrasing of the question, there's a presumption, right, that there is an objective state called anger, that generally most instances of anger will look the same regardless of person and context. And I very quickly realized that There are no essences that anybody's been able to discover, right?

So recently, in the last couple of years, researchers did a meta-analysis, which is a big statistical summary of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of experiments. And what they discovered is that, and this is just in urban cultures, right? We're not even talking about remote cultures now. Just in urban cultures, when someone is angry, people scowl about 35% of the time when they're angry.

So recently, in the last couple of years, researchers did a meta-analysis, which is a big statistical summary of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of experiments. And what they discovered is that, and this is just in urban cultures, right? We're not even talking about remote cultures now. Just in urban cultures, when someone is angry, people scowl about 35% of the time when they're angry.

A scowl is like a... Like a scowl, like a, right. Like, you know, you knit your eyebrows, you frown, right? So it's... Okay. But that means 65% of the time when people are angry, they're doing something else that's meaningful with their face. And half the time when people scowl, they're not angry. They're feeling something else. They could be concentrating really hard.

A scowl is like a... Like a scowl, like a, right. Like, you know, you knit your eyebrows, you frown, right? So it's... Okay. But that means 65% of the time when people are angry, they're doing something else that's meaningful with their face. And half the time when people scowl, they're not angry. They're feeling something else. They could be concentrating really hard.